Photo Credit: TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations
Tanzania legend Mrisho Ngassa believes the hosting of TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) will go a long way to inspire the growth of East African leagues.
For the first time in the history of CHAN, it was co-hosted by three East African nations – Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Both nations reached the knockout stages after topping their respective groups but they eventually bowed out at the quarterfinals stages.
Kenya, who topped Group A with 10 points after impressive wins against two-time CHAN winners DR Congo and Morocco, were the first to leave the stage after losing 4-3 on penalties to Madagascar, before Tanzania bowed out following a 1-0 defeat against Morocco. Uganda bid farewell to the CHAN after losing 1-0 to Senegal.
“We (East Africa) have shown that we have a good level. All three countries reached the quarter-finals and we were very competitive,” Ngassa said as quoted by CAFOnline.com.
“This will impact the local leagues because these players will take this experience to their teams. It has also brought some hunger with other players because they also want to play at such a stage next time.”
He added: “This tournament gives us pride in our leagues. Fans will begin to see the value of following their local clubs, and the competition will push everyone — players, coaches, and even administrators — to step up.
“Both Tanzania and Kenya topped their groups, but we see now that it is Madagascar and Morocco, who were both second in the groups, who made the final. It was really competitive.”
Morocco will face Madagascar in the final at Kasarani Stadium on Saturday.
⚽ Follow Pan-Africa Football across platforms for real-time news and stories.